Event
Celebrate the European Day of Languages with us!
Event information
Date & location
Online
Contact
Participation
Explore our offering below and register for your preferred session(s) via the registration links.
"We believe in a university that is a mirror of humanity in all its diversity, reflecting cultures and languages, conventions and disruptions." - Una Europa Manifesto.
On the European Day of Languages on 26 September we celebrate the alliance’s commitment to multilingualism by offering Una Europa staff and students the opportunity to come together and connect with their peers from across the alliance.
Join us on a journey to discover the linguistic diversity of Una Europa through online introductory language courses, and learn more about the place of regional and minority languages in Europe with a lecture and panel discussion by leading experts and academics.
Programme of events
All our European Day of Languages events are open to staff and students from Una Europa partner universities and are free to attend.
Register for your chosen event(s) using the links below.
Online Lecture | Embracing Linguistic Diversity
Embracing Linguistic Diversity: A pan-European discussion on the Charter for Regional or Minority Languages
Join us from 16:30 to 18:00CET for an online lecture and panel discussion exploring the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
Introduced by Professor Rob Dunbar (University of Edinburgh), member of the Committee of Experts appointed by the Council of Europe for the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the event will consider the place of regional and minority languages in Europe and the importance of preserving linguistic diversity as part of our shared cultural heritage.
Guest speakers from the University of Edinburgh, the Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet and University College Dublin/An Coláiste Ollscoile Baile Átha Cliath will bring their expertise and diverse perspectives to the discussion, from minority language media and place names to the situations of Basque, Irish, and the border region between Denmark and Germany.
Come and join us online for an engaging event celebrating our connection through language, aimed at anyone with an interest in languages, cultural heritage and diversity in Europe.
Discover a new tongue with our language taster courses
These ‘language tasters’ will give you a brief introduction to some of the languages spoken across Una Europa, including some regional and minority languages.
Learn Dutch at your own pace with Universiteit Leiden
Learn the foundations of Dutch with this self-paced introductory course. In five online lessons, you will learn basic vocabulary, grammar and sentence formation, familiarising yourself with the Dutch language in an accessible and fun way.
Live taster courses
Come and learn the basics of Irish, Ukrainian, Italian, Esperanto and more! These ‘bite-size’ sessions will introduce you to the basics of a new language in just 45 minutes. You will learn how to introduce yourself, and practice your new language skills with staff and students from across the alliance.
Note: All courses are for beginners, except Spanish B1 offered by Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet.
To register, click on the links below for your preferred session(s) by Tuesday 24 September.
7:00-7:45BST/ 8:00-8:45CET/ 9:00-9:45EEST
8:00-8:45BST/ 9:00-9:45CET/ 10:00-10:45EEST
- Ukrainian with Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
- Irish Gaeilge University College Dublin
- Polish with Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
9:00-9:45BST/ 10:00-10:45CET/ 11:00-11:45EEST
- German with the University of Edinburgh
- Spanish with the University of Edinburgh
- Ukrainian with the University of Edinburgh
10:00-10:45BST/ 11:00-11:45CET/ 12:00-12:45EEST
- Japanese with the University of Edinburgh
- Italian with the University of Edinburgh
- Swahili with the University of Edinburgh
11:00-11:45BST/ 12:00-12:45CET/ 13:00-13:45EEST
- English for Academic Purposes with University College Dublin
- Greek with Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
- Portuguese with Freie Universität Berlin
12:00-12:45BST/ 13:00-13:45CET/ 14:00-14:45EEST
- Italian with Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna
- Latin communicative method with Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
- German with Freie Universität Berlin
13:00-13:45BST/ 14:00-14:45CET/ 15:00-15:45EEST
- Scottish Gaelic with the University of Edinburgh
- Arabic with the University of Edinburgh
- Swedish with Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet
14:00-14:45BST/ 15:00-15:45CET/ 16:00-16:45EEST
- French with the University of Edinburgh
- Esperanto with Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie
- Spanish (Level B1) with Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet
BST - Time in Dublin, Edinburgh
CET - Time in Berlin, Bologna, Krakow, Leiden, Leuven, Madrid, Paris and Zurich
EEST - Time in Helsinki.
Contact information for language tasters
For any questions on the language tasters, please contact the relevant university:
- University of Edinburgh – una.europa@ed.ac.uk
- Uniwersytet Jagielloński w Krakowie – dominika.stopa@uj.edu.pl
- University College Dublin – britta.beuter@ucd.ie (English for Academic purposes)/ gaeltacht@ucd.ie (Irish - Gaeilge)
- Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna – stefania.rocco@unibo.it/ nadia.pagani@unibo.it
- Helsingin yliopisto/Helsingfors universitet – janne.niinivaara@helsinki.fi
- Freie Universität Berlin – katherina.reisner@fu-berlin.de (Portuguese)/ nadia.fischer@fu-berlin.de (German)
Photo credit: Andre Hengst
Una Europa's activity for the European Day of Languages is the result of collaboration between the alliance's Self-Steering Committee in Cultural Heritage, a working group bringing together the Language Centres of our partner universities, and our work to connect into society initiated under the Una.Futura project.